Virginia AG: Armed worship OK unless clergy bans it

The day isn’t too far into the distant future when we’re going to see a church full of redneck Evangelicals, including pastors, packing a six-shooter during mass. TGO

Refer to brief story below. Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s attorney general says people may carry guns into worship services for personal protection, but houses of worship — not the state — have the right to keep weapons out.

In a legal opinion, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli wrote that self-defense is at the heart of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the right to keep and bear arms.

But he added that the Second Amendment was intended only to restrain the government, not private parties, so “churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious entities can, like any other owner of property, restrict or ban the carrying of weapons onto their private property.”

The ruling was praised by Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, who also is an elder at The Harvester Presbyterian Church in Springfield.

Pratt said, “Most of the mass murders in our country have occurred in gun-free zones.”